November 25th

11-25-1942 Rosa von Praunheim (born Holger Mischwitzky) – Born in Riga, Latvia Central Prison during the German occupation of Latvia in World War II. His mother died in 1946 and he was given up for adoption. He learned about his biological mother in 2000, when his adoptive mother told him. He is a German film director, author, painter and the most famous gay rights activist in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He took on the female name Rosa von Praunheim to remind people of the pink triangle that gays had to wear in Nazi concentration camps. He has made over seventy feature films. His films center on gay related themes and strong female characters. He was an early advocate of AIDS awareness and safer sex.

 

11-25-1953 Katherine Zappone – Born in Washington State, USA. She is an Irish activist and a feminist theologian. Her spouse is Ann Louise Gillgan. They married in Canada in 2003. She is the first openly lesbian member of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature) and the first member in a recognized same-sex relationship. Zappone is also a former CEO of the National Women’s Council of Ireland.

 

11-25-1980 Ng Yi-Sheng – Born in Singapore. He is a Singaporean gay writer. Ng has published a collection of his poems entitled Last Boy and a documentary book on gay, lesbian, and bisexual Singaporeans called SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century in 2006. Ng also regards himself as a performance artist, as well as being a writer. He performed slam poetry pieces for ContraDiction, Singapore’s first gay poetry reading held in 2005, and was a co-organizer and performer in its sequel, ContraDiction 2, in 2006. Ng continues to perform his poetry at various events, including literary events and charity functions.